Hall of Fame snubs: How Randy Gradishar and Louis Wright became Broncos

Before the weather turned foul Saturday night, Broncos broadcaster and former NFL end Dave Logan — who helped me set a Jefferson County League record for passed balls when we were Wheat Ridge High School teammates — interviewed former Broncos great Randy Gradishar on the field and on the new video screen.

Gradishar should have been in Canton.

Another induction ceremony took place Saturday without Gradishar and Louis Wright, the two members of the Orange Crush defense who belong in the Hall of Fame, included among the previous inductees in attendance, or even among those being belatedly honored.

Louis Wright in 1977

They both became Broncos because of the talent judgment savvy displayed by, primarily, John Ralston, and other members of the Broncos organization in the early 1970s.

Gradishar had knee surgery after his junior season at Ohio State, then had a strong senior year playing for Woody Hayes and seemed ticketed to go high in the first round of the 1974 draft.

The Colts (picking fifth) had their orthopedic surgeon look at Gradishar’s knee and he pronounced it fine. “Then the Detroit Lions’ trainer calls and says he’s going to be in town (Columbus) and said to come down, he’d meet me in the training room,” Gradishar told me. “This is a couple of weeks before the draft. We’re in the training room and he’s doing his knee evaluation and he pulled it out this way and he says, ‘Whoa! What’s wrong with that?’ I said, ‘Nothing.’ He said, ‘OK.'”

A few days later, Gradishar’s lawyer called and told him the Lions’ trainer was putting out the word that his knee was shot.

Next, Ralston called Gradishar directly. The Broncos were picking 14th. Gradishar recalls Ralston saying, “We heard that Baltimore looked at you and Detroit looked at you, but that you may be available in the first round for us.”

Gradishar declined to go to Denver to be examined, saying he didn’t know what the Lions had seen. In fact, his knee was just “loose,” and it had little or nothing to do with his previous injury. Gradishar told Ralston to call Woody Hayes, and that the coach would vouch for the fact that the knee hadn’t been a problem after his surgery. So Ralston did that and also talked to the Buckeyes’ team surgeon.

“I talked at great length with Woody Hayes,” Ralston told me. “I knew Woody very well because we (Stanford) had played against them in the Rose Bowl. Woody said, ‘He’ll play 10 years in the National Football League and he’ll be the best player you’ve got.’ And he was right.”

The Bears took defensive back Waymond Bryant at No. 4. The Colts took defensive end John Dutton at No. 5. The Lions took linebacker Ed O’Neil at No. 8. The Saints even took Gradishar’s Ohio State teammate and fellow linebacker Rick Middleton at No. 13. Denver was up, and all the whispers were about this linebacker falling out of the top 10 because of his knee, and how anybody taking him that high would be taking a huge risk.

Ralston did it, anyway.

Gradishar was one of the best short-yardage linebackers of all time, was the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1978, and played 10 seasons for the Broncos.

He belongs in the Hall.

So does Wright, who is punished because he was so unassuming in his 12-season career before retiring close to, or maybe still at, the top of his game. All he did was usually be assigned man-to-man to the other team’s top receiver and placed on an island, while the other 10 members of the Orange Crush went about their business.

Wright had started out at Arizona State, but the gist of a long story was that Frank Kush — the same Frank Kush who became the Baltimore coach and was the reason John and Jack Elway didn’t want any part of the Colts — turned him off and he transferred to his hometown Bakersfield Junior College after his freshman year. Then he went to San Jose State, but as a track sprinter who thought his football career was over. Spartans assistant coach Jim Colbert talked him into giving football another try, though.

Wright was considered a prospect, but he was stunned — absolutely stunned — when the Broncos took him with the 17th pick of the first round in 1975.

East coast bias keeps him out. Had Randy played for the New York Giants and put up the stats he did in Denver, he would have been in the Hall years ago. East coast bias. Plain and simple. Too many of the guys making the decisions live on that side of the country. I can’t come up with any other plausible reason.

47YearBroncoFan

Of course East Coast ignorance is keeping Randy, Louis and other Broncos out of the PF HOF. Perhaps one day that ignorance will cease and more Broncos will get their due.

In the meantime, John Ralston suffered tremendous bashing but there is no denying he could find talent. Randy and Louis are but two examples. John also led the Broncos to their first winning seasons. He built the core of the team that went to the 1977 SB.

Denver Goddess

We also have East Coast ignorance in the governor’s mansion. What a shame.

47YearBroncoFan

If you mean Hickenlooper’s avoidance of signing Nathan Dunlap’s death warrant, I must agree.

todd jones

The Cowboys have 21 guys in the hall, KC has 18, Raiders have 22, Chargers 11 guys, 49ers 22 guys, LA Rams 25 guys, it’s NOT an east coast bias keeping Broncos out of the hall. It’s a league country wide media bias against Denver keeping them out. Maybe if you actually educated yourself about the situation instead of just blaming the east for it like children you would know that. But it’s easier to just blame the east isn’t it.

Denver Goddess

Because the media give far more attention to east coast teams than anyone else, and it goes well beyond just the HOF. They openly disrespected the Broncos and didn’t admit Denver was legit until back to back Super Bowl wins. Your personal sense of insult tells me you’re an east coast transplant.
Welcome.

Spider1952

Every year during the HOF ceremonies I fume over the fact that these guys have been overlooked.

Denver Goddess

And they let in the pothead Warren Sapp. What a travesty!

Sapp

Warren Sapp smoked weed in college, then quit like instructed and made it a hall of fame career. He is better than Randy Gradishar and you know it. Put that in your pipe and smoke it Carmello.

Darren Cherwonuk

Sapp and Gradishar played 2 different positions, look at the stats Randy had over 2,000 Tackles and 20 Interceptions in his career Warren,s numbers arent even close

Randy Pandy

Every year the Hall of Fame whiners return like the Swallows at Capistrano….Nobody really cares, and obviously the media doesn’t for sure. So wipe away your tears and man up already.

teebs

When Tebow goes into the hall of fame, there will dozens of chairs knocked over in Denver after Bronco fans string themselves up…Let’s Go Tebow!

http://americablog.com magster

Great article. I love these history lessons.

Woody

Maybe if Denver won more Superbowls instead of talking about them things would be different. Now quit yer gall darn belly aching and get on with life.

Mike Klis has been with The Denver Post since 1998, after working 13 years with the Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph. Major League Baseball was Klis' initial passion. He started covering the Colorado Rockies after Coors Field was approved for construction in August 1990.

Nicki Jhabvala is the Sports Digital News Editor for The Denver Post. Before arriving in Denver, she spent five years at Sports Illustrated working primarily as its online NBA editor, and she was most recently the overnight home page editor at the New York Times. She has reported regularly on the Broncos since joining the staff.

A published author and award-winning journalist, Benjamin Hochman is a sports columnist for The Denver Post. He previously worked on the staff of the New Orleans Times-Picayune, winners of two Pulitzer Prizes for their Hurricane Katrina coverage.